Date Everythingis an ambitious dating simulator that promises to go where no game in the genre has gone before. It features one hundred fully voiced dateable characters, representing everything from common household objects to abstract concepts. Each character has a deep story, many of which handle real-world issues such as mental health and toxic relationships. A deeper story about a power-hungry mega-corporation also lurks for those players who wish to seek it out, but overall,Date Everythingis a colorful romantic romp that’s so much more than what it seems on the surface.
Game Rant had the opportunity to preview two hours ofDate Everythinggameplay. Our preview began when we were introduced to our new house and our new job at Valdivian, which we were then immediately fired from, as the company had decided to replace its human workforce with AI. Luckily, our life immediately changes for the better when a mysterious online friend gifts us a pair of “Dateviators,” magical glasses that allow us to see everything in our home ashumanoid “Dateables.“And, of course, all of those lovely objects want to sweep us off our feet.
Date Everything’s Cast Of Characters Shines
Gameplay inDate Everythingis fairly straightforward. You start with five Dateviator “charges” per day, allowing you to speak to five Dateables. After you’re out of charges, you go to bed and start the next day. Some characters, such as large pieces of furniture and objects clearly sitting on your desk, are easy to find, while others are a little trickier to locate and activate. Fortunately, the “Roomers” system lets you track “rumors” of Dateables you’ve heard about but haven’t met. After you’ve unlockedcertain numbers of Dateables, your online friend will contact you again, providing tantalizing hints about the game’s greater story.
Each Dateable has three paths you may take: love, friendship, or hate. All three are equally valid for each character, although some are more difficult to achieve as certain characters are picky or have preferences towards one route. The multiple routes per character offera lot of replayability, as getting an all-romance—or especially all-hate “Hate Everything”—ending seems quite tricky based on what little we experienced. You also gain stats (Sass, Poise, Empathy, Charm, and Smarts) by progressing with Dateables, and higher stats let you choose snarkier, flirtier, or overall riskier dialogue options.
But the star of the show is, without a doubt, the Dateables themselves. Each features a colorful, detailed design that makes it obvious what they represent but also helps them stand out visually from the other 99 characters. They are fully acted with an absolutely stacked cast of industry stars, including names fromaward-winning games, cartoons, the world of tabletop gaming, and more. There’s a huge amount of variation in personality as well as how interested the character is in a romance with the player and which path (dating, friendship, or hate) they are naturally drawn to.
For example, one early Dateable is Dorian the door (Ben Starr) who is willing to become friends right away, but his romance path takes a lot of work to achieve. On the other hand, Drysdale the Dryer (Neil Newbon) is very forward about what he desires and basically answers the question, “What ifAstarionwas somehow even flirtier?” Chance the Twenty-Sided Die (Matthew Mercer) is initially too focused on wanting to DM a tabletop game for the player to even think about romance, while the Hanks, a hivemind of hangers voiced by developer Robbie Daymond, will bring up being “friends with benefits” in their very first conversation.
The Dateables Are So Much More Than Just Their Romances
We initially spent our time “spreading the love” and getting to know as many Dateables as possible in the time we had, spending a brief time each with Dorian, Chance, the Hanks,Dante the Fireplace, Timothy the Clock, Harper the Hamper, Bathsheba the Bathtub, and a few others. But we quickly found ourselves drawn into the deeper stories of each character.
In particular, we fell in love with the tragic love story between Washford the Washer (David Sobolov) and the aforementioned Drysdale. The pair were once a loving couple and acrobat duo who performed together (“tumbling” jokes and puns abound) but have not spoken in years after some unclear “incidents.” We spent a good chunk of our two hours going back and forth between the two Dateables, trying to get both sides of the story and figure out what actually happened while tearing out our hair and screaming “Just TALK to each other!” at our computer. These two alone are compelling enough to have a game written about them, and the fact that they’re just two out of one hundred is truly stunning.
This brings up what is perhapsDate Everything’sgreatest strength besides the characters themselves: the sheer variety of stories it tells and the types of love it features.Polyamoryis treated respectfully and given validity. Washford and Drysdale are both interested in the player as well as each other, and they are far from the only example of such in the game. Toxic and harmful relationships, mental illness, and other serious topics are examined with the gravity they deserve—and with great respect to the player, as the character representing the Dateviators themselves will provide a content warning and allow players to skip scenes they may not wish to see without hindering progress.
Characters like Dorian, who are uninterested in romance, are not shamed for their preferences, and the “Friendship” path for each character isnot treated as “less” than the romance option. (Nor, of course, is the “Hate” route). Indeed, there are some characters for whom “romance” is not necessarily their best ending, but who are much happier keeping things platonic with the player.Date Everythingis truly a game that understands that love comes in many forms and that fairy-tale, happily-ever-after romance isn’t always the answer.
Date Everythingpromises to be a perfect game for anyone who wants a little bit—well, a lot—of love in their lives. It’s snappily written, with fascinating characters, an intriguing story, and both humorous and heartwarming moments in spades. The multiple paths and stat-locked dialogue offer replayability above and beyond its already massive cast of characters, all of whom players can easily fall for thanks to their great stories and stellar performances by the actors. True to its name,Date Everythingpromises to offer a little bit of something for everyone whenit launches in June.
